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History · Prairie Center Township

2 of Prairie Center Township’s places are on the National Register

Its Register listings are the South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-133-170 and the South Dakota Department of Trans. No. 14-130-176. Most of Prairie Center Township was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1898 on.

2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Prairie Center Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Prairie Center Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1986. Watch Prairie Center Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Prairie Center Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Prairie Center Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Prairie Center Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Prairie Center Township on the map, 1898 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairie Center Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Prairie Center Township on the 1898 USGS mapPrairie Center Township on the 1901 USGS mapPrairie Center Township on the 1969 USGS mapPrairie Center Township on the 1986 USGS map1898Elk Point sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Prairie Center Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Greenfield
1872–1906
Clay Point
1879–1897
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Clay PointGreenfield
Gone or out of use
Valley SchoolschoolWest Paint Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Prairie Center Township
Clay PointSaint Peter Greenfield

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Prairie Center Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Prairie Center Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 190 to 185 (-3%).

Timeline

Prairie Center Township, 1872 to 1906

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Greenfield post office opens
  3. 1879Post officeThe Clay Point post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe Clay Point post office closes
  5. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Post officeThe Greenfield post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the National Register

2 historic places in Prairie Center Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-13…
South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-133-170South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-130-176
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Warren through truss2
South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-133-170Warren through truss
All 2 listings
South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-130-176Structure · listed 2001

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Spirit Mound Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarfield Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSpink Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairview Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Prairie Center Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Prairie Center Township?

Two places: the South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-133-170 (listed 2001) and the South Dakota Department of Trans. Br. No. 14-130-176 (2001).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.